किसान बन्धुओं,

आइये, अपना घर देखें. मरखप के हमने आजादी हासिल की. मगर आजादी का यह सिक्का खोटा निकला. आजादी तो सभी तरह की होती है न? भूखों मरने की आजादी, नंगे रहने की आजादी, चोर डाकुओं से लुटपिट जाने की आजादी, बीमारियों से सड़ने की आजादी भी तो आजादी ही हैं न? तो क्या हमारी आजादी इससे कुछ भिन्न है?

अंग्रेज़ लोग यहां के सभी लोहे, कोयले, सीमेन्ट और किरासिन तेल को खा पीकर तो चल गये नहीं. ये चीजें तो यहीं हैं और काफी है. फिर भी मिलती नहीं. जितनी पहले मिलती थीं उतनी भी नहीं मिलती हैं. नमक की भी वही हालत है. कपड़ा यदि मिलता है तो पारसाल से डयोढों दाम पर साहूबाजार में और उससे भी ज्यादे पर चोरबाजार में…

क्या पारसाल से इस साल किसान के गल्ले-वगैर का दाम एक पाई भी बढ़ा है? ऊख का दाम तो उलटे घट गया. तब खुद सरकार ने कपड़े का दाम इतना क्यों बढ़ा दिया? जब चोरबाजार में सभी चीजें जितनी चाहो, मिलती हैं तब तो उनकी कमी न होकर नये शासकों ने ईमानदारी, योग्यता और नेकनीयति की कमी हो इसका कारण हो सकती है. लोगों में इन गुणों की कमी ठीक ही हैं, कयोंकि ‘यथा राजा तथा प्रजा’.

हमें आये दिन पुलिस और हाकिमों की झिड़कियों को सहना पड़ता है, बिना घूस के कोई भी काम हो नहीं पाता और मिनिस्टरों के पास पहुंच नहीं. रात में बदनाम चोर-डाकुओं के मारे नाकों में दम है, खैरियत नहीं और दिन में इन नेकनाम डकैतों के डाके पड़ते हैं.

मालूम होता है जनता की फिक्र किसी को भी नहीं हैं खाना नहीं मिलता-महंगा होता जा रहा है. फिर भी ये मिनिस्टर बड़ी उम्मीदें बांध रहे हैं कि वोट तो अगले चुनाव में इन्हें और इनके कठमुल्ले ‘‘खाजा टोपी’ धारियों को ज़रूर ही मिलेंगे. जन साधारण को ये गंधों से भी गये बीते समझते जो हैं. यही है हमारी नई आजादी का नमूना और इसी दमामा बजाया जाता है.

किसान समझता था और मजदूर मानता था कि आने वाली आजादी यदि चीनी-मिश्री जैसी नहीं तो गुड जैसी मीठी होगी ही. मगर यह तो हर माहुर साबित हुई जिससे हमारे प्राण घुट रहे है.

घुटके मर जायें!

जो नेता आज गद्दी-नशीन हैं. वह चिल्लाते थे कि नागरिक स्वतंत्रता सबसे ज़रूरी है- उसकी रक्षा मरके भी करेंगे. मगर उनने गद्दी पर बैठते ही उसी के खिलाफ जैसे जेहाद बोल दिया है. तीस दिन और बारह महीने सभाओं, मीटिंगों और जुलूसों पर रोक लगी है. सिर्फ पुलिस की नहीं, अब तो जिलाधीशों की आज्ञा के बिना आप कभी कुछ नहीं कर सकते. अखबार तो प्रायः सभी उन्हीं का हुआं में हुआं मिलाते हैं. जो कुछ भी है सिर्फ दबी जुबान से. नहीं तो जुबां खींच ली जाये ऐसा डर लगा है. जो खुले के बोलते हैं वे लटका दिये जाते हैं.

साम्प्रदायिक दंगों को दबाने के लिये सार्वजनिक रक्षा के नाम पर कानून बनाया गया. मगर उसका प्रयोग नागरिक स्वतंत्रता के विरूद्ध सरासर हो रहा है. दिनों दिन उसे और भी सख्त बनाकर करेले को नीम पर चढ़ाया जा रहा है. नागरिक स्वतंत्रता के मानी रह गये हैं सिर्फ लीडरों की बातों को दुहराना और शासक जो कहें उसी को सही दुरूस्त बताना, ‘ऊंद बिलैया ले गई, जो हांजी-हांजी करना.’

थोडे में ‘तड़पने की इजाज़त है न फरियाद की है. घुटके मर जायें मर्जी यही सैयाद की है’ रामगढ़ कांग्रेस के बाद जिस भाषण की स्वतंत्रता के नाम पर कांग्रेस ने लडाई छेडी थी वह आज उसी कांग्रेस के राज्य में शूली पर लटका दी गई है. फिर भी उम्मीद की जाती है कि लोगों के दिनों में बेचैनी की आग धकधक न जले.

वहां और यहां…

सोवियत रूस और जारशाही से वैसी ही आजादी 1917 के मार्च में मिली थी जैसे हमें 1947 के अगस्त में प्रायः तीस साल बाद ब्रिटिश साम्राज्यशाही से मिली मानी जाती है. मगर क्या उसके साथ हमारी कोई तुलना है? रूस के बारे में महामना लेनिन ने अपने ‘अप्रैल वाले मन्तव्यों’ में लिखा है कि ‘दुनिया के मुल्कों में रूस सबसे अधिक स्वतंत्र है. रूसी जनता की हिंसा लापता है और यहां कि जनता आंख मूंद कर रूसी सरकार में, जो पूंजीपतियों की है, विश्वास करती है’. भारत तो संसार में आज सबसे कम स्वतंत्र है. उसकी जुबान और लेखनी पर जंजीरे जकड़ी हैं. जनता की हिंसा भी जोरों से जारी है, चाहे अमन कानून के नमा पर शासकों के द्वारा या चोर-जुटेरों के द्वारा. यहां नेहरू सरकार बेशक पूंजीपतियों की है और अभी तक शायद जनता की इसमें विश्वास भी है. मगर वह आंख मूंद कर तो नहीं ही है. उसकी जड़ हिल चुकी है और जनता ने खुले और छिपके इस सरकार को कोसना-लथाडना शुरू कर दिया है. वर्तमान शासक यह जान भी गये हैं.

राजनीतिक पंडागिरी

उन्हें भय है कि आगे उनकी पूछ न होगा. इसीलिए एक ओर जहां साम्यवाद एवं अराजकता के नाम पर दमन का दौरा-दौरा है वहां दूसरी ओर उनने राजनीतिक पंडागिरी भी शुरू कर दी है जो बड़ी भयंकर होगी, अगर फौरन रोकी तथा दफनाई न गई.

वह खूब समझते हैं कि फासिस्टी दमन से दूर तक भूखी, नंगी, कराहती जनता को दबा रखना असंभव है. इसीलिए दमन के साथ ही बापू के नाम पर राजनीतिक मूर्तिपूजा उनने जारी कर दी है. स्थान-स्थान पर महात्माजी की मूर्तियां बन चुकी और तेजी से बन रही हैं, जिनके पंडे वही खाजा टोपी वाले बन रहे हैं.

गांधी की आत्मा को खून के आंसू रूलाने वाले ये बाबू दिनरात उनकी सत्य-अहिंसा को एक ओर बेमुख्वती से कत्ल करते हैं. दूसरी ओर उनकी जय बोलते और ‘रघुपति राघव राजा राम’ गाकर भोली जनता पर मिस्मरिज्म वाला जादू चलाना चाहते हैं. इनके कुकर्मों से जनता ऊबी है. लेकिन धार्मिक पंडों से क्या कम ऊबी है?

फिर भी यदि उन पंडों के पांव पड़ती और चढ़वा चढाती है तो इन नये राजनीतिक पंडों को भी पैसे और वोट का चढावा ज़रूर चढायेगी, इसी ख्याल से महात्मा गांधी जी के नाम पर पर पंडागिरी चालू हो रही है जो निहायत ही खतरनाक होगी. धार्मिक पंडागिरी चालू हे रही है जो निहायत ही खतरनाक होगी. धार्मिक पंडागिरि में तो सुधार हो सकती है, वह मिट सकती है. मगर इसमें सुधार की गुंजाइश कहां?

इसलिए यह पनपने ही न पाये, यही करना होगा. इसके विरूद्ध अभी से जेहाद बोलना होगा. नहीं तो किसान-मजदूर मर जायेंगे यह ध्रुव सत्य है. वे बाबू पांडे ‘गांधी जी की जय’ और ‘रघुपति राघव’ को अपना राजनीतिक हथकंडा बनाने जा रहे हैं, याद रहे. इसलिए हमें इसे मटियामेट करना होगा.

निरी मक्कारी

जो समझते हैं कि ये बातें महात्मा गांधी के प्रति इन बाबुओं की भक्ति की सूचक हैं वे भूलते हैं. इन्हें उस भक्ति से क्या ताल्लुक? इन्हें तो अपना पाप छिपाना और उल्लू सीध करना ठहरा और इनने देखा कि अगर कंठीमाला और राम नाम के पीछे सारे कुकर्म छिप जाते हैं तो हम भी नये किस्म के राम नाम और नई कंठी माला तैया करें. इनकी यह निजी राजनीतिक कालाबाजारी है.

यह जयजयकार, यह रामधुन और यह चर्खा धुनकी कोरी आधुनिक कंठीमाला है. इन्हीं सब चीजों के पीछे राजनीतिक महा पाप छिपे-धुलेंगे. ऐसा इनने मान लिया है. धार्मिक फकीरों से ही धूर्ततापूर्ण राजनीतिक फकीरी का पाखंड इनने चालाकी से सीखा है.

महात्मा ने लाख मना किया कि माउंटबैटन योजना को लात मारो और भारत को छिन्न-भिन्न मत होने दो. तो क्या इन बाबुओं ने उनकी एक भी सुनी? बापू ने कहा कि कांग्रेस को तोड़कर लोक सेवक संघ बनाओ और इस तरह चुनावों में होने वाले घोरतम कुकर्मों में उसे मत सानो. परन्तु क्या इन राजनीतिक कालाबाजों ने उधर कान भी किया?

1947 से 15 अगस्त के बहुत पहले क्या इनने गांधी जी की अहिंसा को ठुकरा कर उन्हें मर्मान्तक वेदना नहीं पहुंचाई थी? तब उनके प्रति भक्ति का क्या सवाल? जीते पिता के ठुकराने और निरन्त निरादर करने के बाद मरने पर उसका पिंडा-पानी करना इसे ही कहते हैं. यही तो मक्कारी है, और किसानों का भला तब तक न होगा जब तक इस मक्कारी का पर्दाफाश असली तोर पर नहीं करते.

बाबू मठाधीश

इनकी राजनीतिक पंडागिरी का एक और पहलू भी देखिए. मठ-मन्दिरों और धार्मिक सम्पत्तियों के नियंत्रण एवं सुसंचालन के नमा पर इनने बिहार में धर्मादय सम्पत्ति बिल तैयार किया है जिसे कानूनी जामा पहनाने के लिये भी ये आतुर है. हमने यह बिल पढ़ा है. यदि उसे कानूनी रूप मिला तो वर्तमान महन्तों एवं पंडे पुजारियों का स्थान ये ‘‘खाजा टोपी’ धारी बाबू ले लेंगे और उसकी सम्पत्ति या तो चुनावों में लगेगी या इनके तथा इनके चेले चाटियों के पेट में समायेगी, यह ध्रुव सत्य है.

मठ-मन्दिरों के प्रभाव से भी चुनाव में काफी फायदा उठाया जायेगा. जिनने राजनीतिक और अर्थनीति में सभी कुकर्म खुलके किये, जो ऐसा करने में आज ज़रा भी हिचकते, वह धर्मनीति को सीधे फांसी लटकाकर सारी सम्पत्ति को द्रविड प्राणायाम के द्वारा डकार जाने में सांस भी न लें.

मठमंदिर को मिटा देना है तो साफ कहिये. द्रविड प्राणायाम की क्या जरूरत? उन्हें यदि वर्तमान पंडेपुजारी और महन्त मिट्टी में मिला रहे हैं तो बाबू लोग उससे भी बुरा करेंगे. अप्रत्यक्ष संगठित लूट प्रत्यक्ष लूट से कहीं बुरी है. क्योंकि पकड़ी नहीं जा सकती है. यह बिल अप्रत्यक्ष लूट का रास्ता साफ करता है. सुधार तो इससे होगा नहीं.

पंजाब में सिखधर्म के मठमन्दिरों का संशोधन सुधार जैसा संगठित सिखों ने किया और संघर्ष के द्वारा उन्हें गुरू द्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के हवाले किया, वह बात हिन्दू-मस्लिम मठमन्दिरों के बारे में होगी. तभी इनका उद्धार होगा. जो साधु फकीर और पंडित राष्ट्रवादी, जनवादी और सर्वभूतहितवादी है, और आज ऐसों की कमी नहीं है, उनकी ही राय से उन्हीं के तत्वावधान में मठमन्दिरों का उद्धार या संहार जो भी उचित हो होना ठीक है. बाबू भैयों और दूसरों को इसमें टांग अडाने का हक़ नहीं. मगर इसका श्रीगणेश वे साधु फकीर और पंडित ही करेंगे, उन्हीं का यह हक़ है.

यह भी बात है कि धर्म का प्रश्न पेचीदा और खतरनाक है. आज यह सवाल नहीं कि ये मठमंदिर भले हैं या बुरे. चाहे वे जो भी हों, जैसे भी हों, इनके पीछे हजारों वर्षों की अनन्त लोगों की भावना है जो बड़ी ही मज़बूत है. धीरे-धीरे उसमें खराबी आई है सही. फिर भी वह अपनी जगह पर है और उसके संबंध में कुछ उलट फेर करने के पूर्व जनता के सामने वह प्रश्न जाना चाहिए. आज जो असेम्बली है उसके सदस्यों के चुनाव के साथ यह सवाल उठाया गया न था.

फलतः जनता ने इसके बारे में अपनी कोई राय न दी. इतने महान प्रश्न पर जब तक जनमत न लिया जाये असेम्बली को कोई हक नहीं है कि बोले, सो भी बुनियादी परिवर्तन के लिये. यह भी सही है कि जब तक बुनियादी परिवर्तन न हों, जो इस मामले में अधिकार पूर्वक बोल नहीं सकते, वही इसी के लिए कानून बनायें. यह सरासर गलत है. उन्हें इसमें हाथ डालने का हक़ नहीं है. फिर भी राजनीतिक लाभ के लिये इसमें दखल देने पर तुले बैठे बाबुओं को हम आगाह दें कि अलग, अलग दूर दूर…

संस्कृति शिक्षा

ये बाबू आजा की शिक्षा के साथ मखौल कर रहे हैं, खासकर संस्कृति शिक्षा के साथ. मिडिल स्कूल में दो चार संस्कृत की किताबें पढ़ाने से संस्कृत का उद्धार होने की बजाय यह अधकचरी बन जायेगी और देश में अधकचरे संस्कृतज्ञों की बाढ़ लायेगी. फिर तो प्रागाढ़ विद्वानों और संस्कृत के महारथियों को कोई पूछेगा तक नहीं.

आज संस्कृत साहित्य के अगाध समुद्र के महामंथन की आवश्यकता है जिससे अमूल्य रत्न किनलें. घर-घर, गांव-गांव मथानी चलाने से वह काम न चलेगा. मुल्क में सैकड़ों संस्कृत विश्वविद्यालय हों और हजारों अन्वेषण शालाएं हां, जहां साहित्य, आयुर्वेद आदि के संबंध में सभी प्रकार के अन्वेषण, सब तरह की खोज निराबाध चले. एतदर्थ प्रत्येक प्रांतीय सरकारों को करोड़ रूपये हर साल खर्चने होंगे. संस्कृत सरकारों को करोड़ रूपये हर साल खर्चने होंगे.

संस्कृत के मुख-चुम्बर मात्र की जगह सर्वागीण प्रगाढ़ आलिंगन की आवश्यकता है. उसे पुष्ट-पौढ़ बनाने की जगह दूषित कलुचित करने का यह प्रयत्न निन्दनीय है. यह सही है कि कुछ नामधारी पंडितों को टुकड़े मिलेंगे और लोगों को धार्मिक भावना की तुष्टि भी होगी. इस तरह शासकों के पोषकों का एक नया दल देश में तैयार होगा जो हांजी, हांजी करेगा.

मध्यमा परीक्षोतीर्ण लोग आगे बढ़ने के बजाय टुकड़ खोरी में लगेंगे. संस्कृत विद्या शान और सम्मान की वस्तु रही है, न कि महज टुकड़े खोरी की. उसे उस उच्च स्थान से गिराने का राजनीतिक कुयत्न बर्दाश्त के बाहर है. मैं संस्कृत का सदा से प्रेमी रहा हूं और जीवन का सुन्दर भाग उस साहित्य के मंथन में गुजारा है. इसी से मुझे इस बात का दर्द है.

(स्वामी सहजानन्द का अध्यक्षीय भाषण बिहार प्रान्तीय संयुक्त किसान सम्मेलन 12-13 मार्च, 1949 ई. ढकाइच, जिला शाहाबाद)

नोट: स्वामी सहजानन्द सरस्वती (1889-1950) भारत के राष्ट्रवादी नेता एवं स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानी और किसान आन्दोलन के जनक थे.

]]> http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/05/swami-sahajanand-saraswatis-speech/feed/ 0 http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/05/indian-government-must-deal-with-agricultural-sector-and-farmers-issues-seriously/ http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/05/indian-government-must-deal-with-agricultural-sector-and-farmers-issues-seriously/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 18:17:41 +0000 admin http://beyondheadlines.in/?p=16272 Atul Kumar Anjan for BeyondHeadlines

In recent times, the Government of India has taken some measures regarding agriculture and agricultural produce which will negatively impact farmers and consumers. Enforcing new agricultural policies is resulting into further increase in worst agricultural crisis. The prices of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides have increased many folds. The prices of petroleum products are also going up due to de-controlled policy. Now the government also wants to de-control diesel price. Due to all these policies the input cost in agriculture sector has gone up too high and in absence of remunerative prices for agriculture produce, the agriculture has become a non profitable sector.

The newly formed National Water Policy of the central government will pave the way to earn heavy profit by corporate sector from common man and later the rural population will also be effected by these policies. The water for irrigation for agriculture purpose will become very costly. The government is planning to de-control sugar industry. If this happens then the corporate sector involved in sugar industry will earn huge profits. The private and cooperative sector sugar mills have to pay more than 11,000 crores to the farmers who are waiting for a long time.

The climate change is adversely affecting the crops and due to this the losses has become a serious issue for the farming community. I has been observed in the last ten years that the droughts and floods are taking places every alternate year – ruining the crops and livestock. Recently, Neelam Thunder storm destroyed crops in 15 lacks hectare of the land, and more than two and half lacks animals lost their life. It is unfortunate that the center and state governments do not have a long term plan to tackle drought and flood. Even the National Disaster Management Committee does not have an effective plan to deal such important problem.

The farmers community has organized nationwide struggle against forcible land acquisition in the last few years but the problem has not been addressed. The Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Bill and Seed Bill is still pending before the parliament and different parliamentary standing committees. Farmers’ land has being taken over by real estate, middle man at the throw away prices in connivance with bureaucracy. The mineral deposits and the water from rivers are being looted by corporate houses. The tribals are being denied their forest rights. There is growing unrest in the rural India. The central and state governments must take serious steps on these issues and formulate the policies for farmers and rural people, otherwise there will be a serious turmoil which may have cascading effect on governments and the society.

(Author is the General Secretary of CPI)

The events of last over two decades have shown us, more than before that the efforts of dividing the nation by communal forces have been a major obstacle to social peace and process of development. In India while the communal violence began with the Jabalpur riot of 1961, it is from last couple of decades especially from 1980s that the divisive politics has tried to drive a wedge between different communities along religious lines. The regret is that it is only few social workers and scholars who took this issue in all its seriousness and Asghar Ali Engineer can be counted amongst those few. He also spent major part of his social efforts to fight against the ideology and machinations which led to communal violence and the victimization of minorities, time and over again, year after year.

Engineer was a student when Jabalpore riots took place. It clearly left a deep mark on him. The imprint of this tragedy got reflected in his social engagement with the issues related to communal violence and communal politics all through. His talks and articles reflect about the impact of Jabalpur violence, its impact on nation and its influence on the conscience keeper of the nation, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru. Engineer’s work on the issue of communal violence, communal ideology and communalization of society spans on a vast canvass and will easily fill volumes.

His work, to be referred below, shows that he took a serious interest in understanding the  dynamics of communal violence, he must have spent days in and days out, investigating the communal riots, their aftermath and their impact on the social and political affairs. He can easily be credited with being the major scholar-activist who pioneered this area of investigation. He spent enormous energy to investigate and analyze the communal violence in India. He can also be regarded as the foremost scholar-activist who not only commented on the issues related to communalism, but also gave his forthright opinion on the range of those, against the heavy odds. He has been criticized by the communalists of both the religions for his opposition to the politics of violence in the name of religion.

This article takes an overview of his work in the area of communal violence investigation and his contribution to campaigns for promotion of secular values. It is based on understanding his work from the vantage point of a close working relationship with him as a friend and associate. I have also tried to take the overview of his massive contribution from the point of someone who not only witnessed his work from close quarters, with awe admiration and some criticism, but also tried to learn from him to give direction to my own work.

Communal Violence

The communal violence of Jablapur (1961) shook Engineer very deeply, the very concept of violence in the name of religions was anathema to him as he was steeped in the spirituality of Islam right from his childhood. He was taught that Islam does not preach violence, and no religion teaches violence, so why this violence in the name of religion. This is the point when he decided to devote his life to promote communal harmony. It was an event which was to shape the course of life and work. He not only intervened after the events of communal violence to douse the fire of the violence but made it a central part of his initial life as an activist to investigate the acts of violence in depth. Starting from Biharsharif riots to Gujarat carnage, he spent time in unraveling the truth of the violence mostly by field studies. His reports on these events are a landmark in the area of riot investigation, in understanding the underlying machinations of this phenomenon. Biharsharif was a stronghold of CPI due to its following amongst the Bidi workers. Dr Engineer could unravel that RSS in order to spread it hold in the area, used the dispute between Yadavs and Muslims over the land for cemetery, to instigate the violence (1981).

Godhra witnessed riots on and off during 1980-81. Engineer investigated these riots as a part of a team. The conflict here was mainly between Sindhis and Ghanchi Muslims. While Sindhi immigrants were looked down by other Hindus, for various reasons but those Hindu groups supported them against Muslims. The material reasons of poverty of Ghanchi Muslims and growing demands of Sindhis for facilities was the root cause of the trouble which assumed religious color. The report pointed out that rumors played a lot of role in this violence.

Engineer also studied the Ahmedabad violence of 1982. Extensive field investigation was done for this. In this case the poor Muslim locality of Kalupr and Daryaganj face the brunt of the violence. An incident over kite flying turned into stone throwing and violence. Just prior to this VHP had started its work in these areas and prepared the ground for the skirmishes. VHP virulently talked against the conversions of Harijans to Islam. The communal forces resorted to heavy propaganda, especially through distribution of leaflets in the area. These leaflets used a communal version of history, demonization of Muslim kings, and emphasis on singing Vande matram, and opposing those who kill cow. Some people drew the attention of Gujarat government to this virulent propaganda, but there was no response to those appeals.

Pune and Sholapur were in the grip of violence in 1981-82. These were precipitated in the aftermath of Ahmedabad violence and VHP as usual had been at the forefront of spreading the communal venom. It was a period when VHP had launched a Jan Jagaran (People’s Awakening) campaign all over India. This campaign was based on demonization of Muslims as foreigners, beef eaters, etc. This was also a riot which took place in the aftermath of Meenkshipuram conversion of dalits to Islam in 1981. Dr. Engineer makes a very pertinent point while relating the communal violence to the core issue of atrocities on dalits. He points out, “VHP is raising the hue and cry of conversions of Harijans in Meenakshipuram so that people do not pay attention to the screams of dalits burning in the pyre of discrimination.” (Communal Riots in Post Independence India, P 265)

The aggressive campaign of VHP intimidated the Muslims. VHP took out a procession with portraits of Golwalkar and Manusmiriti, along with those of Gandhi and Ambedkar. The procession tore down the hoardings with Muslim names, including the one of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and shouted anti Muslim slogans. The procession changed its permitted route and entered Muslim locality, attacked Muslim hotels and shops were stoned.

In Sholapur also situation was similar. Here they propagated the myth of rising Muslim population to provoke the people. Here also trouble began with VHP procession on 15^th Feb. 1982. The procession when it came near Punjab Talim Mosque, it started giving anti Muslim provocative slogans. There was attack on small shops owned by Muslims after which Muslims were attacked.

Meerut riots have also been a big sore on our polity. Meerut a city with great syncretic traditions also suffered the violence. Here the main goal was to co-opt the dalits, to give them liquor etc and to use them for violence against Muslims. Here the riot had more political reasons than economic ones. The riot was instigated on the issue of some piau (where one gets water to drink). One Muslim advocate and another trust were involved. Tension mounted in April 1982 and the provocative propaganda was stepped up. Biased attitude of police and communal slant of newspapers added to fuel to the fire. Similarly Vadodara Hyderabad and Assam riots were also studied by him.

His major observations have been that a small incident is taken advantage of by communal forces, the rumors add havoc to the situation and communalized state apparatus, police in particular, plays a partisan role, worsening the plight of minorities.

Apart form these riots of Mumbai 1992-93 (Report of EKTA Samiti, 1993) Gujarat carnage has also been studied by him (Sowing Hate and Reaping Violence, CSSS 2003). The studies by him have been used as a base by many a scholars to make interpretations and conclusions about the phenomenon of communal violence. He does interpret every riot on its ground and the specificities of the particular violence are well reflected in his studies and reports.  Another aspect which emerges from his studies and reports is that gradually the intensity of communal violence is worsening, and it did peak in Gujarat violence. He has vividly presented the failure and complicity of police machinery in this violence. It seems that the deeper process of communalization has been going up in last three decades. And now even the other minority Christians have also been brought under the chopping block of communal forces.

He also draws our attention to the fact that these episodes are not sporadic or spontaneous. There is a deeper motive behind these. There is a good deal of planning in such episodes. His other studies-reports show that popular perceptions about minorities lay the base for violence, the propagation of myths and biases against Muslims and Christians make the job of the communal group easier. What is undeniable is that communal forces take advantage of every conceivable opportunity to strengthen them, first by instigating the violence, then perpetuating it and in the process they increase their political power.

Apart from his own book-reports on the violence he has edited several volumes on the issue Communal Violence in Post Independence India, Communal Violence after Independence, Bhivandi Riots, and Communalism and Communal violence to name the few. He continues to chronicle the communal riots on regular basis and these are published as Issues in Secular Perspective, the January issue of this periodical carries his compilation and analysis of Communal Riots of the year past. ( Also posted on CSSS-ISLA. COM)

Communalism-Secularism

Activist’s scholars in India have faced a challenging task of understanding, defining and intervening in the situations related to communal violence. How does one understand the phenomenon of communalism in Indian society? Why India is plagued with this problem? These must have been the issues dogging his mind when he began his parallel study of Indian history and analysis of contemporary issues.

While unraveling the Indian history, the communal interpretation of which is major component of communalization of social thinking, he focused on overcoming the communal interpretation of history and presented the view of looking as history of kings as battles for power and wealth. He understands lives of people as an ongoing journey of interaction, some frictions and major synthesizing tendencies resulting in syncretic traditions. His major book on this, Communalism in India (Vikas, 1995) gives a good reflection of his thinking on the issue. He tried to evolve his workshops with different sections of society on these lines. Later he came out with many articles and books on this issue. (List appended)

In his work the medieval history is presented not as a battle between Hindu and Muslim kings but as battles between kings for power and wealth. He draws heavily from original sources and from the works of national Historians. The issue of temple destructions, Jijia, policies of Muslim kings, spread of Islam and other aspect of social life during that period gives a good reflection of those times and is an effective tool in breaking the myths and misconceptions in peoples mind about it. The traditions of Sufis, Bhakti saints and their emphasis on values of love and amity is brought out effectively. The mixed traditions of society do convey that Hindus and Muslims were good companions and religion was not the cause of discord, the social interests were, and sometime surely these interests did come in the garb of religion. But communalism as a political phenomenon was introduced here after the coming of British rule.

He takes up the vexed issue of role of Muslim leadership in freedom movement and the role of communalists, Muslims and Hindus both in aggravating the communal violence even in pre-independence India. He handles the issue of partition of the country very delicately to focus that the main responsibility of partition lies on the head of British, while Congress leadership and Jinnah’s obstinate nature added to the issue. He seems to agree more with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on this point that partition could have been prevented had Maulana’s suggestion of sticking to Cripps Mission proposals been accepted.

As a part of dispelling myths about Muslim minorities he has written on the ‘Role of Muslims in Freedom struggle’. Fascinated by the approach of Gandhi in politically uniting different communities and emphasizing on non-violence and peace he has also compiled volume on Gandhi and communal harmony. His fascination for Gandhian approach to communal problems is seen in his work all through. His sense of Gender justice is very strong and he has shown how Islam gives equality to women, and highlights how women are the worst victims of communal violence. The list of his contributions and web site gives and ample insight into his concerns and how he has handled them in a humane manner. His regular publication, Secular Perspective has a good circulation and is reproduced in many a websites and newspapers across the globe.

Secular Intervention:

It is difficult to decide as to which aspect of Engineer’s work is more important than other. There is a deeper integration in different facets of the work and one can see the deeper connection between different facets of his work.

His intervention in social issues began with his concern for communal harmony. His urge to study and understand the communal problem began with the tragedy of Jabalpur violence, later his study led him to intervene and undertake the campaigns and awareness work to promote communal harmony work. In Mumbai from late sixties he brought together like minded friends in to groups, Awaz-e-Biradaran. This group started talking about communal problem and raising the awareness about need for harmony through taks in schools and colleges. As Engineer had deep interest in Urdu literature also, he did come in contact with prominent writers who also got involved in helping in the harmony work. With outbreak of Bhivandi riots, 1970, he camped in Bhivandi, along with Balraj Sahni the renowned actor, for two weeks, going to villages and talking to the victims and helping them. His group also involved prominent writers to issue the message of peace through All India Radio.

In Mumbai he also became part of Indo Pak friendship movement. At the same time he came in contact with the Sampradayikta Virodhi Committee (Committee against Communalism) in which doyens like Subhadra Joshi and D.R. Goyal were associated and Engineer started contributing to their work.

The response of Muslim leadership to the issue of Ramjanmbhumi disturbed him immensely, he held that Muslim leadership should be in the background, and the issue should primarily be tackled by secular activists and scholars. He also brought to the notice of Muslim leadership that it is important to agitate on the issues of Muslim poverty and backwardness. The Gopal Singh Committee report, which was lying in the cold storage, needs to be implemented. He himself involved many secular activists to issue appeals for peace.

He took initiative to form EKTA Committee in the wake of Meerut riots in 1987. This became the platform for trade unions and other progressive people of Mumbai to campaign for peace and to oppose the rising tide of communalism.

I witnessed his work directly mainly from 1992-93. During the Mumbai riots he undertook many a peace marches in troubled areas. The lasting impression in my mind is that of a sincere, honest and committed scholar activist. During the Mumbai violence, his office became a natural place for all the activists to meet and during those meetings over hundred activists used to throng to his office, standing in different corners of the small office, even balcony of the office used to be full to the brim. He used to sit in the middle, on the floor and used to conduct the meting and make the plans for action. Most of the planning’s were peace marches and community work. Behrampada, a area near Bandra was given special attention for work, peace marches. Peace marches were also organized in different part of the city.

These marches had important effect on the psyche of society and these gave lot of hope to the victims. As a peak of these efforts on 26^th January 1993, in the thick of communal violence looming on the horizon, he organized a Peace march into the main areas of Mumbai. These activities were supplemented by the investigation into the Mumbai riots and the report brought out by EKTA Committee was remarkable for its in-depth work. This brought him face to face with the reality that police; the arm of the state to control the violence itself is much communalized. He decided to approach the police authorities for conducting workshops for communal harmony. It will be impossible to count the number of these workshops scattered in different parts of Mumbai, Mahrashtra and all over the country. He was faced with the challenging questions based on the biases against Muslims, their food habits, violence nature, Muslim Kings destroying temples, polygamy and what not. To his credit he has been conducting this difficult workshop with dignity and modesty coupled with deep scholarship of the issues.

Center for Study of Society and Secularism

Meanwhile he took up the task of formalizing the awareness programs and was instrumental in laying the foundation of Center for Study of Society and Secularism, which has emerged as the premier center for spreading awareness about secular issues. The CSSS, as we refer to it in brief, has also undertaken research on the contemporary issues relating to the National Integration. On awareness front CSSS began experimenting with various modules for different sections of community. Its workshops ranged from half a day affair to seven day in depth workshops for serious activists and teachers. These workshops cover the theme starting from History to the contemporary issues, terrorism, Islam and peace, values of freedom movement. I can guess that thousands of activists and others must have benefited from these workshops. CSSS has also set up Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution to formalize the training of activists into secular values. Plans are also foot to initiate the longer training for activists, teachers and students.

His own engagement with multiple lectures and accepting infinite invitations from all over the country and globe are another facet of his work. What needs a mention here is his membership of National Integration Council during the UPA regime (2004-2009). He forthrightly raised the issues related to harassment of minorities in the name of terrorism amongst other issues. His interventions, along with the similar one’s from other important members and the efforts of tribunal on the issue, did affect the Government policy. With these interventions the routine pursed by Police authorities to arrest large number of innocent Muslims youth in the wake of blasts anywhere, came to halt.

He has also been a major part of the process to bring together all the activists working for the cause of secularism. Groups working for communal harmony all over the country have come together as a  platform from last few years, All India Secular Forum.

Touching Moments

While one is talking on the social contribution of a person of high stature, there are some anecdotes which have been very touching at personal levels. I have shared lot of meetings and travels together along the course of our work. The interaction during these periods has been another learning and sharing experience for me. One is privy to sharing his thoughts and ideas on most of the issues.

I cannot help but recount an anecdote, which has left a deep impression on me. One of the mornings we were standing in the Mumbai University campus hall. The seminar was to begin in another 10-15 minutes or so. As we were waiting one of the speakers came in a taxi and we welcomed him. As we were talking to the speaker, the taxi driver got down, did a respectful namaste (greeting) to Engineer and said, Sir please continue your work,  your writing, it is a source of peace for the society. I am sure there must be innumerable persons around the globe with similar sentiments.

DANIEL ALTMAN

Is India different? Last month, India’s finance minister confidently declared that nothing could stop his country from becoming the world’s third-biggest economy. He may well be right, but size alone does not make India a special case. Its growth has been fast, but it is no trailblazer.

Here are eight popular myths about India’s growth, all of which are easily debunked: 

India has outperformed other emerging economies in the recent past. In the two decades from 1992 to 2012, average living standards in India did rise faster than those in most countries that started from a similar level. In fact, only nine other countries in the world saw living standards, measured by purchasing power, climb more quickly: Albania, Armenia, Bhutan, China, Equatorial Guinea, the Maldives, Mozambique, Sudan, and Vietnam. Faster growth was to be expected in countries that started out with lower living standards than India’s, but several of these — Albania, Armenia, Bhutan, China, and the Maldives — actually started out with higher purchasing power. Relative to them, India underperformed.

India will grow faster than other emerging economies in the future. For the next five years, the International Monetary Fund projects that living standards in several countries will grow faster than India’s. Among them, again, are countries with a higher starting position: Bhutan, China, the Republic of Congo, and Georgia. India will likely outperform many other economies that have similar living standards today, but it hasn’t unlocked every secret of economic growth just yet.

When India finally opens its markets to trade, exports will supercharge its growth.India is not the easiest place to be an exporter, but it’s hardly the most difficult, either. In terms of both time and money needed to ship a container of goods, India ranks in the middle of the pack, according to the World Bank. If anything, exports could become more expensive for Indian companies if the United States and others forced India to drop some of its remaining export subsidies. In 2011, India’s exports and imports represented 54 percent of GDP, about the same share as in China. It’s unlikely that exports will change the growth story anytime soon.

The urbanization of India’s huge rural population will lead to unprecedented increases in living standards. Urbanization has been a critical ingredient to economic growth for many countries. Simply putting labor next to capital by attracting people into cities tends to raise workers’ productivity and, eventually, their incomes. More than two thirds of India’s population stilllives in rural areas, compared with less than half in China. But India is not under-urbanized compared to other poor countries; if you look at how living standards compare to urbanization among all the world’s countries, India sits right on the best-fit line. There’s no reason to believe that urbanization will help India’s growth more than it has for any other country.

India’s service industry will provide a huge boost to employment. India’s legions of call-center staffers, software developers, and information-technology experts have led some analysts to proclaim a “service revolution” that will provide an alternative to manufacturing as a path to prosperity. Yet economists suggest that India’s service sector has merely caught up to international norms, and there is no particular reason to believe that it will take over a much bigger share of the economy as the country grows. The literacy rate in China is much higher, and it’s not clear that India even has more English speakers. Moreover, as wages rise in China, the opportunity for India to raise living standards through manufacturing — not services — will expand enormously.

India has more mathematical, scientific, and engineering geniuses to drive its economic growth than other countries. In absolute terms, this may be true; after all, India has a population of more than 1.2 billion people. But a population this big will have more people at either end of the distribution of economic ability: more geniuses, and more people with serious challenges to their cognitive capacity. The question is whether the extra geniuses will have a positive effect that is disproportionate to India’s population. If this were true more generally, populous countries like Germany and France would have higher living standards than smaller countries with similar advantages, like Switzerland and Denmark. Clearly, this is not the case.

As a democracy, India is more conducive to free-market capitalism. The links betweendemocracy and economic growth have interested economists for decades, and the rise of state capitalism in non-democratic countries like China and Saudi Arabia has posed an ideological challenge. India is often touted as the world’s biggest democracy; the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators rank it in the 59th percentile for “voice and accountability” of citizens and government, just shy of several members of the European Union. Still, India’s markets are far from free. The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom calls India “mostly unfree” with a ranking of 119 out of 177 countries, as a result of heavy government involvement in the economy, from regulatory requirements to trade barriers. It’s also one of the toughest places in the worldto start a business.

The British legacy of a strong legal system gives India an edge. If it does, it’s not a very big edge. Geographical factors like coastline, rainfall, and temperature can explain a big share of the differences in living standards between countries today. Controlling for these factors, former British colonies tend to do better than the average among all countries. But among the former colonies, India is one of the worst performers. Indeed, its living standards are worse than you might have expected given its geography. That may be because the vast majority of India’s workers operate outside the strictures and protections of the legal system, in an environment more reminiscent of London’s 19th century slums than Canary Wharf.

To sum up, there’s little basis for any sort of mystique surrounding India’s economic growth. On its current path, India shows no obvious signs of rewriting the textbooks; on the contrary, it has confirmed much of what economists already understood about urbanization, industrialization, trade, and institutions. Don’t get me wrong — India is undoubtedly a fascinating country for many other reasons. But to an economist, it’s just another poor country that happens to be very, very big. (Courtesy: foreignpolicy.com)

Development is the catchphrase of modern times. No word has gained so much political currency as development in the last few decades. The popular media in India is abuzz with many kinds of development talk today. We constantly hear about Modi style of development with the tagline ‘maximum governance with minimum government’ or Sonia-Rahul Gandhi style of development which is said to be welfare state model or even the Nitish style of development which some claims is an inclusive one. Media often relishes in pitching one kind of development against another as if no other form exists for the people of India.

Development today is considered a natural world order that is just and desirable for all and not something which comes as a result of political will or social construction.  This trick of equating development with the natural progression of life itself plays an instrumental role in thwarting any possible critique of the idea- which is at the root of what French anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu called ‘symbolic violence’.

Even after tremendous appeal contained in the word, today the simple idea of development poses many questions. So we find many prefixes being added to the concept as if standing alone development is a dirty word. There is ‘social development’; there is ‘sustainable development’ or take the example of ‘human development’. We can rightly ask the question why do we need to associate ‘human’ with ‘development’? Is it for the reason that it could be inhuman at times? We rarely try to find these answers.

Now it is an irony that the arrival of the word ‘development’ in our contemporary socio-political discourse was merely an accident. The Inaugural address by US President Harry Truman on January 20, 1949 for the first time brought the notion of development in public sphere: “The old imperialism – exploitation for foreign profit – has no place in our plans. What we envisage is a programme of development based on the conceptions of democratic fair dealing”. Louis J. Halle, who worked at the State department, then documented his role in including this part of the Presidential speech in an article called ‘On teaching International Relations’. In his own words this action was a “public relations gimmick thrown in by a professional speech-writer to give the speech more life”.

The chain of events which made it possible is as such:

One evening Halle in a meeting with Deputy Director of American Republic Affairs (DDARA) talked about a possible programme of technical assistance for the Latin American countries. Both contended that similar ideas can be put to other places too. During the time when Truman’s Inaugural address was in the process of being written, his speech writer’s assistant asked the State Department for some proposals. So in a talk with Director of Public Affairs (DPA) the DDARA recalled his conversation with Halle and proposed “how about a programme of technical assistance for underdeveloped countries, like that in Latin America?”(the word ‘underdeveloped’ had not yet been coined).  So as an extra fourth point this was agreed to be included in the speech.

However, in the routine clearance this point was dropped and Halle thought it might be possible that State department was in the dark about the intended actions associated with the suggestion. The draft was sent to the White House with earlier three points but President found it uninteresting and asked whether something ‘original’ could be added to it. So the Director of Public Affairs then in a call to White House mentioned about a missing point four and after explaining what it was, they asked it to be put back in the speech.

Neither Halle nor President Truman had any idea what this new word ‘development’ was all about when it appeared in the international circle through the Inaugural address. But next day when the newspapers all over the world splashed headlines on “bold new programme” launched by the President, it also took White House by surprise. It was only then that “machinery was set up in the government to look into the possibilities of such a program and make plans”.

Yes, development did not arise from decisive planning by some accomplished scholars or distinguished leaders. But with time institutions after institutions were set up to ensure its continued presence in the public imagination.  The word contain so much power in itself that even during the cold war great powers may disagree on myriad of issues but agreed on a single agenda – development for the Third World.

Today when the leaders in Third World countries like India rest their political agenda on the idea of some ‘unknown’ development, we instead of asking crucial questions get swayed by the power of the word. This becomes quite relevant when mainstream media and politicians continuously debate on the future land acquisition bill or on food security legislation of India. We are relentlessly told that ignoring corporate India’s view on such crucial issues will be populism and will halter the development of our nation. Whose development and what is beyond development are the pertinent questions here.

It is unfortunate that today increased GDP, foreign direct investment, rapid urbanisation and things alike are equated with the word development but the idea of subsidised food, health, and education for the majority of people becomes populism. Or economic reforms are development but land reforms are not. It is high time that the trend of leaders piggybacking on the power of the word to forward the agenda of some crony capitalists must be stopped forthwith. We will have to create a discourse where the word development gets discussed from the vantage point of those 77% people who live on less than   20 a day (about $0.50 per day) as per the Arjun Sengupta Committee report. Else development will remain an accident for the people which was only conceptualised by some US diplomats to maintain the dominant power structures in the world through Foreign Aid programmes.

(Adil Hossain is a student of development anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London and intern at Media Standard Trust, London. He can be followed on twitter@adilhossain)

Muslim representation in the elite civil services has remained within 2 to 3 percent. There are free coaching centres around the country to provide training for the UPSC examination. Despite this the result has been disappointing. I wanted to know why this is the case and who is responsible. I visited the Minority Coaching Institutions in Delhi to get a better understanding of the problem.

Muslims are 16% of the total population in 2011 but they only have 6-7% of the total employment. Only 3% are in the civil services. This year, out of 998 successful candidates, 31 were Muslims. The percentage of qualified Muslim candidates in the current year stands at about 3.1%. 29 Muslim candidates were successful in the 2011 UPSC examination out 910 posts.

In the entire country there were 108 Muslim IAS officers out of 4790 IAS officers in 2010 and 109 IPS out of 3209. Most Muslims selected in the UPSC in any particular service in a year was in 1997 when 9 Muslims were successful in being IPS officers and 6 Muslims being IAS officers in 2009. As per the available data 47 Muslim candidates became IAS officers during the two decade period of 1990-2010. This data speaks for itself and presents the dismal share of the Muslims in the country’s premier service.

Zafar Mahmood of Zakat Foundation believes that as per the 2001 population, Muslim population is 13.5% of the total population and out of 900 seats there should be 122 candidates selected in the UPSC. When 5.5 lakh candidates appear for the Prelims of the 910 seats at least 78,000 Muslims must appear for the prelims, instead 1200 Muslims sat for prelims this year in 2011. Even though, the figure of 1200 has been disputed by others, Mr. Mahmood’s concern echoes everywhere in the community.

Sachar committee had mentioned that 2.3 million Muslim educated youth are unemployed and Mr. Mahmood believes that there is hardly any initiative from the government to remedy this situation. He feels that Muslim community needs another Sir Syed. In addition he wants the religious and community leaders must work to encourage the youths to apply for government jobs especially for the UPSC.

It is universally known that skill has no religion and educational excellence is not confined to any community. For skill and excellence there is a greater need of government and community synergy. Government is encouraging students through free coaching, but coaching quality remains below average. It is equally the responsibility of the community to take charge of the situation and support UPSC aspiring youths. He suggested that there should be some kind of a voucher system that provides monetary support to students who have qualified the Prelims and this would help the candidates to prepare for the Mains and the personal interview.

Jusuf Kabir Ansari who cracked UPSC and got selected in Indian Railways Service in 2010 feels that UPSC preparation has become a national hobby. Most of the educated youth want to be civil servants hence prepare for the UPSC. Only aspiration has no value. A proper civil service nurturing atmosphere is the need of the hour. He further says that as basic schooling is weak it weakens the overall educational background of majority of Muslims. Lack of proper guidance worsens the situation. Coaching remains inadequate and most often are confined to formality and reduced to officialdom.  Mr. Ansari strongly feels that Prelims and Mains don’t have bias.  He did not agree with the figure of 1200 Muslims to have appeared in the last examination. He feels that it would be more.

Najeeb Jung, the Vice Chancellor and a former civil servant asserts that there is no bias or discrimination in UPSC.  Instead he noted that people in UPSC think that Muslims have a higher success rate in comparison to their number of applications. Mr Jung observed that many Kashmir youths have recently succeeded in the UPSC. Stressing that struggle is the need of the time, he does not believe that one has to resort to begging for a post rather study at least 12 hours a day to succeed at the UPSC. He confessed that during his preparation for the UPSC, he kept himself confined to a room for three years, followed a strict disciplinary life and kept away from most of the social circle. He advised that serious aspirants must also follow a strict discipline. He feels that there is a contradiction in today’s youth as most of them are addicted to their mobiles, have girlfriends/boyfriends and still feel that they can crack the toughest examination in the world! He took a dig at the youth who watch Three Idiots and think that they will become civil servants one day. He believes that candidates who are self-driven are more likely to be winners at the civil services.

Students at the famous Hamdard Study Circle believe that there is no dearth of talents in Muslims. But they feel that not many know about the UPSC and don’t have the wider community awareness and expertise. Ashraf and Intakhab, students at the study circle feel that UPSC preparation must start from schooling days. Government also needs to give reservation to Muslim candidates.

Hamdard’s success rate has been outstanding. But it is not a coaching centre in the classical sense but a study circle where students who have been trained elsewhere and have advanced level of preparation come and join it for preparation purposes. All facilities are provided to encourage hard work and excellence.

My interactions at Jamia Hamdard Coaching and Guidance Centre revealed that coaching systems are not okay. Finding good quality teachers have been a great problem. The problem of teachers is one of the major problems and is felt everywhere including at the Centre for Coaching and Career Planning of Jamia Millia Islamia. Many admitted that Jamia centre is good for Prelims but not very good for mains. Teachers are not training properly for the mains. Some students mentioned that the distance between the hostel and campus is a major concern and moreover the library is not well equipped for the mains examination. Prof. Anisur Rahman, the Director clarified that the centre takes an exam, then selects students. He agreed that hostel problems exist but explained that they have taken a rented apartment to facilitate the stay of aspirants. He was candid that the library is okay though not the best and was confident that the level of awareness is increasing and the centre will slowly create and provide better facilities for the serious aspirants.

The one year coaching facility at the India Islamic Cultural Centre has also been stopped as the students’ response was not encouraging. There are many such instances where the centres are struggling and aspirants are suffering due to the apathy of the management and the government in general. The economic backwardness of many aspirants has also created problem for serious preparation. In this backdrop the problem is multi-dimensional and any solution to this complex issue has to be multi-pronged. Scholarships and fellowships to Muslim youth to prepare for the UPSC must be the first solution simultaneously followed by the capacity building of the coaching centres. Augmentation of the library facilities and appointment of good quality teachers are the two most required initiatives that the government, university authority and the community leadership must ensure.

Related Story:  31 Muslim Candidates Selected in Civil Services

The Islamic world has been suffering an intellectual crisis in the modern era since the decline of the Ottoman Empire.  This has accounted for the intellectual malaise and stagnation found internally within the Islamic umma, or community at large.  While this stagnation has occurred, those voices of reason and intellect that have tried to stimulate and resuscitate an ‘intellectual jihad’ within the umma have not only been stifled, but outright repressed and marginalized by the orthodoxy.  They’ve been silenced, bullied, and threatened.  Rational thinking has been banished; unquestioning compliance with the orthodoxy and blind dogma have become the order of the day and the status quo, even today.  Intellectual jihad has been defeated, but it has not been tossed in the dustbin just yet.  Intellectual jihad must be revived.  The Boston bombings are only one of many ominous signs of the dangers of repressing intellectual jihad and rational thinking.

One voice that strongly urged the Islamic umma to undertake the ‘intellectual jihad’ was the late Professor Fazlur Rahman (d. 1988), originally from Pakistan.  He was exiled for speaking for rational thinking and against fanaticism and fundamentalism, which were on the rise in Pakistan.  Professor Rahman wrote many books and articles, and his book, Islam (1979), in particular explains the sources of fundamentalism and fanaticism in puritanical Islamic movements, since early Islamic history to the post-colonial era.  His advocacy for ‘intellectual jihad’ remained marginalized, while the voices and power of the puritanical orthodoxy in the umma became popularized.  Violent jihadism has managed to eclipse what used to be considered “the Greater Jihad,” that of struggling for self-improvement.  Intellectual jihad is yet another vein in Islamic exegesis and the need for reinterpretation in order to adjust to modernity, which has for too long remained suppressed.

The puritanical orthodoxy, then, has perpetuated intellectual stagnation and impeded the much-needed Islamic renaissance and reformation in the modern era.  The spread of harmful, intolerant ideologies, such as Wahhabism and Salafism, are documented sources of indoctrination into violent jihadism.  Online and satellite TV self-proclaimed clerics, who are usually uneducated in Islam and Classical Arabic, have easy access to impressionable Muslims, appealing to their emotions.  Rational thinking never enters their spheres and domains.  Counter-terrorism strategies need to address the source of the problem – these clerics, their messages, and the dangerous emotive ideologies they profess – rather than dealing reactively with just the symptoms.

Islamic schools usually teach rote memorization of the Quran, without understanding the meanings of the verses.  Classical Quranic Arabic is difficult even for native Arabic speakers, because it’s an obsolete and extremely difficult language.  Religious seminaries do not encourage questioning.  Memorizing verses, but failing to understand them, and also authoritatively forbidding any questioning of the curricula, all constitute a recipe for disaster.  Such curricula will never lead a student to a comprehensive education with competent skills for a viable career, nor would such students be contributing anything to social progress.

Muslims and Islamic religious authorities bear the responsibility to support and promote intellectual jihad and rational thinking.  This is imperative, and without such reformation those embracing the violent form of jihad will continue to capitalize on its use of violence and terror.  Hence, the proponents of violent jihad will continue to perpetuate insecurity, and governments will continue to react with harsher constraints on civil liberties and rights.  The vicious cycle will revolve indefinitely.

Religious reform is embodied in the intellectual form of jihad.  Given that religion and politics are not separate in Islam, such reform is imperative for facilitating progressive intellectual, spiritual, and political discourses.  One of the methodologies of Islamic jurisprudence is ijtihad, which is ‘reinterpretation,’ or ‘original thinking,’ applying reasoning and analytical thought to Islamic laws and principles.  Ijtihad allows for change and reform, without modifying the essence of Islamic principles and laws.  In modern history, ijtihad has been static, as the ultra-orthodox religious authorities and institutions have suppressed the process of change, which has been urgently needed in order to adjust to modernity.  In the field it’s said, “the gate of ijtihad has closed.”  Hence, Islamic fundamentalism and fanaticism have predominated in modern history.  But is the gate truly closed, or is it blockaded by unsavory forces?  And if it’s closed, at least it is not locked!

It’s worth examining Fazlur Rahman’s forthright assessment of Islam and the roots of fundamentalism and fanaticism, and heeding his caveats and recommendations.  Otherwise, violent jihadism will continue to hijack Islam and perpetuate the worst that criminal behavior can offer.  It’s in no one’s interest to allow that to happen.

(Dr. Hayat Alvi is an Associate Professor at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. She can be reached at hayat@hayatalvi.com. The views expressed  here are personal.) 

And it has started again. At this moment people of India are seething in anger over the brutalisation and rape of a 5 year old child in Delhi. People are back on the streets demanding accountability from police and politicians and a robust system to check increasing violence against women. Unfortunately, some political parties while discussing the matter in Parliament have already gone back to their usual rhetoric of clamouring for death penalty as a deterrent against sexual crimes. Rather than addressing the structural issues attached to the crisis, this kind of demand offers a simplistic view of a complex matter.

However, I am not going to debate the effectiveness of death penalty as the topic has been discussed earlier at length by many columnists and also by the Justice Verma Committee. I am particularly concerned with the increasing reference to the efficacy of anti-rape laws (public stoning or hanging or shooting) in Arab countries as a counter to crimes like this by some of my Muslim friends. Sharing of pictures of public justice in Saudi Arabia or Yemen, usually depicting an army man shooting the offender in the head in full public view or something similar, has become commonplace on social media today. Also by demonstrating low statistics of rape in those countries, they express a sense of righteousness in claiming that these places with Shariah laws are far safer for women and a worthy model for us to follow.

Though after every rape incident, many people suggest harsher punishments on similar lines as a form of retributive justice, but bringing religiosity into a topic like this is a dangerous trend and may have many ramifications for a pluralist democracy like ours. Such approach has the capacity to initiate a process of counter communalisation as it has resonance with our-culture-is-better-than-your-culture conflict. It’s obvious that it is also about reclaiming religious identities through the construction of the good and bad imagery.

If today laws in Arab nations are supposedly harsher, effective and need of the hour, then tomorrow right wing Hindutva forces may construct the same images claiming the usefulness of Manusmriti laws against rape to protect women from such crimes. After all the rape laws in Manusmriti (8:323 or 8:352) also call for similar harsh punishments as in the Shariah. Hardliners in Christian community may follow suit and refer to the severe punishment like public stoning to death mentioned for rapists in texts like Deuteronomy (22:25-27). The opportunity to find harsh laws in ancient texts to punish sex offenders are endless, as one may go on from Code of Hammurabi in Babylon to the Celtic Laws of England where sentences like death by publicly burning at stake or dismemberment or breaking wheel can be found.

So firstly to claim exclusivity in punishing by exemplary means with the intention to create fear among future rapists and bringing religiosity in it is a misplaced idea as most religious texts cite similar things. In criminal jurisprudence, modern human civilisation has come a long way from a point where even death by guillotine was considered humane (started during French revolution). In spite of the temptation, laws in a secular pluralist democratic country like India should be made in Parliament after due deliberations and debate by looking at recent developments and not by locating them in religious texts as it may give rise to competitive communalism. And there is no denying that for minorities in India, any shift from secular discourse in our national debates will only make their position weaker in the society.

Secondly, any reference to the laws of Arab nations should not miss the position of women and the nature of functioning of the state in those societies. The presence of women in public sphere is almost invisible and unfortunately the discourse there still moves around questions about whether women should be allowed to drive or cycle alone in public. While posting UN rape statistics on social media to prove that these places are safer for women, my friends forget that it doesn’t include cases of rape that go unreported or marital rape cases there(the idea is even nonexistent). And given the stigma attached to rape in places where women are the ‘honour of the family’, it is easy to presume that rape would be the most underreported violent crime. Add the factor that these nations are extremely controlled societies with very little scope of independent agencies or non-governmental organisations verifying the government produced data.

Today there are many organisations in countries like India which are taking leadership role in sensitising people on sex crimes, encouraging women to speak up, report and pursue justice for sexual crimes. Reports like 52% children in India face domestic sex abuses create a public discourse which is unimaginable in those nations as they are yet to reach a consensus on issues like this. Public media debate on rape on television and in newspapers also has its own multiplier effect on the society as a whole as reflected after the December rape incident in Delhi. But how many times has any Saudi channel debated with eminent members of public and civil society (if they are there) when a ‘celebrity’ cleric accused of raping, torturing and killing of his 5 year old daughter was released after paying blood money? Or how many public protests have we seen on their streets to protest against miscarriage of justice? If the answer is none, then stop sharing those photographs because it doesn’t prove that their systems protect women better than ours.

India has to find a way forward today with regard to the increasing violence against women where it’s failed badly. We will have to ensure the participation of women in all public spheres if we are to compete with other nations on economic front.

It is sad to note that with a staggeringly slow criminal justice system and rampant police apathy, rape convictions have gone down over the years. But the public protests on the streets of Delhi demonstrate our willingness to change the scene in spite of political apathy. My friends should also join these protests and discuss the issues related to rape within a secular discourse well documented in the Justice Verma Committee to strengthen our democratic system.  They must know that by sharing these images on social media, they are speaking in a language fundamentally different from the voices of reason protesting on the streets of Delhi.

(Adil Hossain is a student of development anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London and intern at Media Standard Trust, London. He can be followed on twitter@adilhossain)

]]> http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/04/heavenly-rules-with-no-idea-of-hell/feed/ 0 http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/04/gudiya-rape-case/ http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/04/gudiya-rape-case/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:49:38 +0000 admin http://beyondheadlines.in/?p=15782 Vinod Bandhu for BeyondHeadlines

मुज़फ्फरपुर ज़िले के औराई प्रखंड स्थित भरथुआ के ग्रामीणों को सलाम. इस गांव के लोगों ने बिना समय गंवाए दिल्ली में पांच साल की गुड़िया के साथ हैवानियत को अंजाम देने वाले मनोज साह के सामाजिक बहिष्कार का फैसला किया. ग्रामीणों ने उसका हुक्का पानी बंद कर दिया. इससे समाज की जीवंतता का अहसास हुआ है. बिखरने के इस दौर में उसकी एकजुटता दिखी है. उसके अंदर का इंसाफ प्रकट हुआ है. इससे एक उम्मीद जागी है. उधर, मनोज की पत्नी और सास ने भी इंसाफ के साथ खड़ा होकर मिसाल पेश की है. उन्होंने कहा है कि अगर मनोज दोषी है तो उसे फांसी दी जाए.

किसी भी चरित्र की कलंक कथा को रोकने में सबसे बड़ी भूमिका सामाजिक और नैतिक बंधन की ही हो सकती है. रिश्तों के डोर से समाज बंधा रहा है. बचपन में आदर और अपनत्व के संबोधन से हम रिश्तों थामते हैं और यही हमें सामाजिक प्राणी बनाता है. अपने-पराये की संकीर्णता से बाहर यह हमें दर्द, खुशी और आदर के रिश्ते से जोड़ता है. इसी से हमारे अंदर मानवीय मूल्य पैदा होते हैं. लेकिन बीते दो-तीन दशकों में इस डोर को तार-तार करने में हमारे आधुनिक जीवन सरोकारों ने क्या कोई कसर छोड़ी है?

मानवता को लज्जित करने वाली दिल्ली वाली दिल्ली का ताज़ा घटना ने कई अहम सवाल खड़े किए हैं. दामिनी के साथ दरिंदगी के बाद देश भर में आए उबाल के दबाव में संशोधन कर कानून को सख्त बनाने को केन्द्र सरकार मजबूर हुई. लेकिन इसका नतीजा क्या निकला? गुड़िया के साथ क्रूरता क्या कहती है? कानून के सख्त होने और इसके रखवालों की सक्रियता से दोषी को कड़ी सज़ा सुनिश्चित कराई जा सकती है. यह एक सकारात्मक पहलू है. लेकिन इंसान के अंदर हैवान न पनपे यह रास्ता तलाशना ज़्यादा ज़रूरी है. ऐसी मनोविकृतियां युवाओं के दिमाग़ में जगह बना रही हैं तो इनकी मूल वजह क्या है? शास्त्रार्थ अब इस मुद्दे पर ज्यादा ज़रूरी है. दिल पर हाथ रखकर खुद के अंदर झांकने की ज़रूरत है, कि हम कहां और कैसी चूक कर रहे हैं?

बच्चों को महंगे स्कूलों में पढ़ाना ज़्यादा ज़रूरी है या उसे नेक और ज़िम्मेदार इंसान बनाना? क्या यह सवाल कभी हमारे दिमाग में कौंधता है? स्कूली शिक्षा से मोरल साइंस के पन्ने कब गायब हो गए, इसकी सुधी हमें है? पाश्चात्य शिक्षा और संस्कृति क्या हमारे देश के आबो-हवा रचने-बसने के काबिल हैं? सामाजिक रिश्तों की अहमियत को ताक पर रखकर हमने कैसा गुनाह किया है?

किसी भी कलंक कथा में बिहार के बिहार के किसी का नाम आए तो अफसोस स्वाभाविक है. लेकिन ऐसी क्रूरता कोई बिहारी होने की वजह से नहीं करता है. दरअसल, हैवानियत की कोई जात या प्रांत नहीं होता है. बीते कुछ समय में हैवानियत की ऐसी तमाम घटनाओं में अगर बिहार का कोई युवक शामिल रहा तो अन्य राज्यों का भी युवक भी कोई पीछे नहीं है. असामाजिक तत्व जब गिरोह बनाते हैं तो उनकी मंज़िल क्या होती है? यह तो प्रवृति है, जो जन्म लेती है. दिल्ली या अन्य किसी महानगर या नगर में कौन किस परिवेश में जी रहा है, इसका असर भी मनोविज्ञान पर पड़ता है. हमारा अपराध यह होता है कि ऐसी प्रवृति को रोकने की पहल करने के बजाए अपने-पराये की तराजू लेकर बैठ जाते हैं. कोई अपना करे तो बहादुरी और दूसरा करे तो अपराध, ऐसी मानसिकता या कमजोरियां हमारा सबसे बड़ा दुश्मन है.

आरंभिक छोटी सी गलती को ढ़ककर हम अपनों का भी भला नहीं करते, बल्कि उसे अंधकार की उस राह पर सरपट दौड़ने की उर्जा प्रदान करते हैं. फिर दलदल तो दलदल है, इसमें धंसकर निकलना आसान नहीं होता है. बहरहाल, अब समय आ गया है कि सामाजिक बंधन की डोर मज़बूत की जाए. सामाजिक चेतना की मुहम चलाई जाए. नैतिकता-अनैतिकता पर बहस हो. मनुष्य सामाजिक प्राणी है तो वह समाज की छतरी तले ही जीवन का आनंद ले सकता है. भरथुआ के ग्रामीणों ने सामाजिक इंसाफ का हौसला दिखाया है. कानून के दायरे के ऐसे फैसलों से जो संदेश जाएगा, वह ज़्यादा असरदार होगा.

(लेखक दैनिक हिन्दुस्तान, पटना के राजनीति संपादक हैं.)        

]]> http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/04/gudiya-rape-case/feed/ 1 http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/04/kill-merchants-of-sex-before-killing-the-rapists/ http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/04/kill-merchants-of-sex-before-killing-the-rapists/#comments Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:39:40 +0000 admin http://beyondheadlines.in/?p=15792 Dr. Javed Jamil for BeyondHeadlines

In the wake of Delhi Gang rape case, I had written several articles stressing the need of uprooting the real cause of increase in all sex related threats including dangers to health and security of human beings. But such is the hold of the merchants on the system that they would not allow any curb on commercialization of sex. The nakedness continues unabated. Pornography including Child pornography is easily available on the net. All forms of unhealthy sexual behaviour are being glorified in films, serials and advertisements. Men and women have been turned into commercial rather than human beings. Let the people die of Aids! Let the people charged with sexual frenzies rape the women and children! Let women in large numbers become prostitutes! Let the families be destroyed! But the merchants of sex will not stop their business. Verma Panel Commission was clearly an attempt to further promote market sponsored feminism, which is based on the use of women as objects of sex, worthy of being sold in the market. Where are those who argued that death sentence was unnecessary even for those who do not care for others’ lives and honour? I had argued that even if there are cases where death sentence is to be condoned, it should be done not as their “right to live” but as a case of special mercy. Further, mercy in itself has no meaning if it does not take into confidence the victim himself or herself or his/her heirs.

This is unfortunate that people are still talking only of punishing the culprits. They cannot see the need to develop a system that protects and safeguards people against vices. Organisations, mostly under the impact of internationally promoted globalization-driven ideologies, refuse to realize the need of an effective ban on commercialization of sex and alcohol and other addictions, which are directly or indirectly responsible for most of the crimes, misdemeanours and societal problems.

This is high time when Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists realized the threat to humankind from global commercialization of human weaknesses, and instead of promoting hatred against one another, they must unite to dismantle the system of evil. Murders and rapists need no mercy. But at the same time, the system must ensure that nothing that provokes baser human instincts will be allowed to exist.

There is not just the need to campaign against the governments; there is an equal need to campaign against the media, which is nothing but mere pawn in the hands of the merchants. The media should be told in clear terms that in the name of “freedom of choice”, media cannot be allowed to defend and promote immoralities, indecencies and unhealthy behaviours. What is more condemnable than the fact that media attacks the champions of morality as the “Moral Police” and itself becomes the brigadier of immorality?

(Dr. Javed Jamil is thinker and writer and can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com)